Skunked at Extreme Sailing Series Hamburg

Hamburg, Germany (August 10, 2017) – Mother Nature refused to play ball on the opening day of Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 5, resulting in no scoring races being completed. Conditions in the German venue are predicted to improve from tomorrow.

Light winds versus strong tide on the River Elbe meant the boats were unable to race, leaving the seven international teams the remaining three days to make their mark on the scoreboard.

Race Director John Craig explained the conditions he faced: “Today the maximum we saw was five or six knots of breeze but from a variety of different directions, coupled with one of the largest tides we’ve seen here in a long time. We had about five knots of current.

“We ran two demonstration races and then we tried one for real and we had to abandon it.

“Tomorrow is looking better, we should have a bit more wind to play with, but I am looking forward to Saturday and Sunday even more as the forecast is set to build,” added Craig, who is optimistic for improved conditions for the rest of the event, with 10 – 15 knots of wind predicted on the final two days.

GC32 Stadium Racing is scheduled to begin tomorrow at 13:30 (UTC+2) with live video graphics available, with the racing on day three and four to be streamed live from 13:30 – 17:00 (UTC+2). To watch, click here.

Background: The Extreme Sailing Series is in its eleventh season, with this year’s eight event tour travelling through Middle East, Asia, Europe and the Americas. The platform used is the one design foiling GC32 catamaran, with the format highlighting ‘stadium’ short-course racing in front of the public.

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